Valerie Gee

A female Private Eye, Hettie, a woman in her early fifties with lots of heart, teams up with Sir Charles, a solicitor with a large amount of inherited wealth, complete with a young ‘model’ hanging off his arm, to prove the innocence (or not) of various influential people in the surrounding Welsh neighbourhood.
The classic ‘who dun nit’ right? We’ll see.
With two startling different personalities, it is no wonder that their way of investigating is startlingly unorthodox, however somehow, they seem to get the job done while it seems they are getting just a little attracted to each other. Will the ‘model’ get superseded?
Overall, an enjoyable read for the adult in your family.… (more)

Didn't really work for me, I can see what the author was trying to achieve, but the verisimilitude didn't fit my experiences and this kept throwing me out of the story, and then the actual plot was somewhat too bizarre. The concept of an older kick-ass but spiritually aware solo PI works well, but Hettie needs a bit more consolidating. There were also some weird time jumps between some chapters where events happened but we only found out about it later, despite most of the book being very much present tense. It could have done with more world-building and establishing both Christopher and Hettie and their businesses.

Hettie's just (maybe it isn't clear) set herself up as a PI (not really that much of an english thing). And needs the business of the local aristocrat one Christopher. However their first meeting gets off to a bad start as Hettie is enjoying a frolic with a local on her office desk. Despite this - or at least through lack of other options, he hires her to help prove that his client (also an aristocrat living in the local castle - really small welsh towns do not support both a castle and a manor - had nothing to do with the death of the client's sister who it appears absentmindedly fell off a cliff. The autopsy reveals she was stabbed and Hettie has a lot more to investigate.

The dynamics between the characters work well, the trivia battles just about bearable frequency, but the world just doesn't feel right. I suspect the author may be US based and although may have had some experience of life in Wales hasn't lived there for a long time.

I won't be continuing the series, but non-natives might enjoy it.… (more)

Wales, Wales, Wales. You should read this book even after these words. You will be not disappointed. Hettie Shaw is a phenomenal character. Being in her early fifties! and having an affair with young men, I can't love her more. And that's besides that she have a druid powers! Are you thrilled now? You 100% should.  Sir Charles, a solicitor with old-money wealth. He is fascinating. He has a lot of surprises, I wish we learn about him in later books.  Firstly, I thought it will be a little boring Jane Austen kind of book. No, no, no, you will be surprised and not only once.  The duet of Hattie and Charles is phenomenal. I'm ready to wait to the second book. Don't end this like this. We need more of Hettie and Charles. … (more)